Microsoft Zune: 2nd Generation, 4gig

When it came to getting a new MP3 player, I was going to go with my original purchase of an IPod Nano. I looked at the pricing and decided that I would go with the Microsoft Zune instead. It offered many of the things that the Nano did, only at a cheaper cost. After getting it, I was actually a little disappointed in it. It is much different than the IPod Nano.

First off, you have to go on the Zune website in order to get the right software to sync your music with the device. I had so much trouble with this that I was just about ready to give up and try and return it. After getting many errors, saying that it could not be downloaded, I finally figured out that I needed some kind of Microsoft Update. I had to go onto Microsoft's website and download this update in order for the Zune program to work. Even after this, I still had trouble because you have to download both programs in the same folder so that it can work, if you aren't computer savvy like me than you might not figure this out either. When I got that, it finally worked. Thank gosh.

After that hassle, I thought everything would go smoothly. I had to figure out how to get all my music on to the Zune. After looking around for a while, I found out you have to go into settings and program where you want folder you want you songs to come from to be compiled into the Zune program. The nice thing about this though is that your songs will automatically go into the program after you download them.

Unlike in the Itunes program, you cannot go into preferences and fix all the song titles, artists, or album at one time. You must click on each column individually and fix it. This really isn't such a big problem, but it just annoys me after having it all in one place on Itunes. Really, I think that Microsoft likes to make things more complicated for people to try to figure out.

Now on the device itself, it's somewhat difficult to get used to the way it is set up since it is so different from the IPod. Sometimes the dialer likes to go crazy and not go in the direction that you want it to. There are been several times where I wanted to go up and it would scroll down or I wanted to go right and it would go left instead. Also, when you try to click on something, say the music section, you have to click just in the right place or it will scroll up or down. It gets ridiculous at some points.

The feature that made me really interested in the Zune, other than the price, was the fact that it had a radio built in. Sometimes it is just nice to listen to the radio other than the music that you have in your collection. Unfortunetly, there is also a problem that comes along with the radio. It is set up so that you have to scroll along a line that had different radio frequencies on it. It skips around so much on the radio, that you can not specific radio stations. You can only get the ones that it will randomly stop on. Right now I can only get about 5 stations and only 3 of them I actually want to listen to them. I also have the problem to where it will go right when I want it to scroll left.

The volume has set notches, unlike the IPod. It has levels that go 1,2,3, ect. Sometimes just sitting listening to my music can be loud, even when it is on the lowest setting. It really needs to have a better way to control the volume.

After all of this hassle, I don't think I would buy a Zune again. In my opinion it is not made as well as the Apple Ipod. The sound quality is amazing, but there are too many frustrations that come along with it. If you are thinking of getting a Zune, I suggest go with the IPod. I think Microsoft should stick with computers, for they are way better at that then their MP3s.